Day of Wrath, Doom Impending
by DarkRedWolf2012
Summary: The finale to the Eternal Dissonance Series. Oliver the vigilante must team up with Barry the prostitute in order to save Felicity from a band of evil villains. Series Part 4 of Eternal Dissonance


Day of Wrath, Doom Impending

"Oliver! Get up!" Felicity scream. "GET! UP!"

Oliver, lying face down on the cement, moved his arm to press one hand on to the ground. He leveraged himself up on his knees with a painful grunt.

"Say goodbye, Oliver Queen," Alex said as he whipped out his handgun.

"No no no…" Oliver tried but it was too late.

BLAM!

The gun fired, smoke rising from the tip like cigarette.

Crimson poured from the clean bullet hole in the front of his head while brain matter and blood smattered the cement behind him. His body fell, lifeless to the ground.

"NOOOO!" Felicity shrieked.

The Arrow was dead.

24 hours earlier

"I told you he was real!" Oliver grunted as he avoided a crowbar that Tommy had just swung at his head.

"Can we do the 'I told you so' later?" Diggle struggled as Dregz lunged at him.

It was late enough that Verdant had emptied and no one was on the streets. Tommy, Dregz, and Ozone had ambushed Oliver, Diggle, and Roy on their way out from the hideout.

Dregz managed to pin Diggle, which caused Diggle's gun to slide across the concrete. Dregz twirled his machete in the air before bringing it straight down towards Diggle's chest. But before the blade could make impact an arrow stabbed through the behemoth's hand.

Dregz wailed as he rolled off Diggle.

"Thanks kid," Diggle said nodding at Roy.

"Don't mention it," Roy smirked before turning back to Ozone.

"Let's not get hasty, Roy Boy," Ozone murmured nervously. "Maybe we can talk this through?"

"We're done talking," Roy grimaced.

"Okay fine have it your way," Ozone smiled before hitting a smoke bomb that clouded the area. Roy felt a body tackle him and hear Ozone try to spray something into his nose, but Roy pushed his breath out to keep from inhaling any of the likely poisonous gas.

Roy grabbed an arrow and used it like a knife to stab at the body he could barely see in the smoke. It sliced across a shoulder cause Ozone to cackle madly.

Meanwhile Oliver used his bow against Tommy. He wailed on Tommy's back and stomach repeatedly in an effort to halt the onslaught. But Tommy ducked out of the beating and swiped with his crowbar causing Oliver to lose his footing and fall. Tommy jumped and came down hard with the bar but missed Oliver's head narrowly when Oliver rolled out of the way.

"I thought we were friends Oliver," Tommy said. "But you killed me. You know you did."

Oliver tried to ignore the painful words coming from that familiar voice. So many memories threatened to boil over. Oliver kept a tight lid on it, as he chose to instead focus on the fight and worry about his emotional well being later. It was hard to fight his old friend.

Oliver kicked Tommy, sending him flying into a pile of trashcans with a clatter.

"Where's Barry?" Oliver asked.

"I think he ran away!" Roy called out as he tackled Ozone.

Diggle couldn't respond, he was too busy dodging Dregz's fists.

Oliver was distracted only for a moment, but it was enough for Tommy to get up and lunge at him. Before Tommy could reach Oliver, however, a huge trashcan lid smashed into his face like a gong.

Barry smiled. "I didn't run, I had to grab something," he brandished a couple of bottles. Some were alcohol from the bar while others looked to be chemicals from their hideout. Barry mixed some in an empty bottle and lobbed it at Dregz.

The chemicals popped and exploded, sending both Dregz and Diggle toppling away from each other. Dregz got up first but Roy trained an arrow on him. Diggle grabbed his gun and aimed at Ozone.

Tommy ran up beside Ozone and said with a grimace, "This isn't over."

Ozone let go a larger smoke bomb and the three men disappeared into the night.

Oliver, Roy, and Diggle huffed with exhausted breaths after the intense fight. Barry smiled even brighter. "That was fun."

"Don't get any ideas," Oliver deadpanned.

"Hey I saved you," Barry countered.

"I would have had him," Oliver replied. "He only snuck up on me because I was worried about you."

"Which by the way," Barry turned an accusatory finger towards Roy. "You really think I'd just run away?"

Roy shrugged.

The four guys started to laugh, exhausted and yet wired from the fight. They went back in to Verdant to patch up before heading home. Barry carefully applied bandages as the four of them recovered from fight.

One of Felicity's large computer screens lit with life. All four men froze and watched.

A man with a dark scar down his left eye showed up.

"Hello Oliver Queen," he said with a thick Russian accent. "My name is Alexander. Alexander Gorki. You killed my brother Pasha."

Oliver stood from the table he'd been sitting on and walked up to the screen to watch closer.

"You took someone dear to me and for that you must pay," Alexander smiled. "First let me show you this." Alexander stepped back from the camera to show a large gun attached to his right arm. The end of the gun was wider than ones Oliver had seen before. "This is a stronger version of my brother's weapon he used on you. You see he had been working with Anton, that little traitor, on this for a very long time. It works well and I'm excited to try it on you."

"Oh great," Diggle muttered.

"And the second thing I need to show you," Alexander grabbed the camera and opened a door. Tied to a chair was Felicity, still in her date clothes, though they were noticeably torn from a struggle and her makeup had run. "We've been going on dates. Felicity is so nice. Happy to have her here."

Oliver made a fist, his eyes widened. The anger that pulsed through him raged at the sight.

"You have twenty four hours to give yourself to me. So I can kill you," Alexander pointed his sonic gun at Felicity. "Or I test this gun on your precious Felicity."

The screen went black, as if it had never been on in the first place.

"We'll find her," Roy said quickly.

Diggle stayed quiet but put a tentative hand on Oliver's naked shoulder.

Diggle and Roy left a while later. No one was going to sleep, but Diggle and Roy needed to grab food. They would have to stay nourished if they were to face all four members of the Quartet.

The room fell silent once it was just Barry and Oliver. Barry didn't know what to say. What could he say? He was still new to this team, he wasn't used to any of this. Anything he might say could be construed as insincere.

Oliver screamed as he swiped his arms across a table of medical supplies and spare arrows. Metallic clangs and crashes reverberated before Oliver began to beat the metal tabletop with his fist.

Despite Barry's initial reaction to step back or even leave him be, Barry knew he needed to speak.

"Oliver! Oliver!" Barry commanded. Barry trapped the sides of Oliver's face between his palms and held him there.

"It's all my fault," Oliver choked, tears were streaming down his face, red with anguish. "They've got her and it's my fault. None of this would have happened if…"

"Oliver!" Barry interrupted. "Stop! This is no one's fault but his and his alone."

Oliver mumbled incoherently.

Barry ignored Oliver's aborted response. "We need to find her! You need to channel everything you're feeling… all your sadness and all your anger into finding and saving Felicity. She needs you right now, Oliver."

Oliver took a deep, racking breath. Barry could read that his nerves were coming back. He knew that an outburst from Oliver couldn't last long. The man was a true, strong hero… he just needed a little shouting.

"What about Griever?" Diggle suggested.

"No," Oliver shot down the suggestion. Since Roy and Diggle had returned, Oliver had managed to get his emotions in check. "There's no way Alexander would make the same mistake as the others. There's got to be something we're missing."

"Got it!" Barry exclaimed.

The three others looked over to the young hooker. He had been sitting at Felicity's computer throughout their brainstorming.

"I can't hack Felicity," Barry pointed at the computer. "But I did manage to get the computer to release the recording. It seems Felicity has it set to record basically anything that happens on here."

"Why were you trying to hack Felicity?" Oliver asked.

Barry shrugged. "She seems like the kind of girl that would have a calendar. Figured we could at least figure out where they went on their date."

Barry played the message again and all four reluctantly watched.

"What's that?" Oliver pointed at the video.

"What?" Diggle leaned closer.

"Felicity's eyes," Oliver motioned for Barry to rewind. Once she came into the shot, Barry noticed right away that she was blinking one eye at a time. It wasn't natural. She was trying to communicate.

"Binary?" Barry suggested.

"Morse," Oliver corrected.

"Felicity, Felicity," Alexander drawled. Felicity had thought the man was gorgeous, in that dark and brooding, tall and muscular kind of way. Felicity could admit she had a type. Well she really just had one guy in mind, but since he'd recently been taken off the market, she had opened her possibilities. The scar that before made Alexander seem wrongfully mistaken for scary and violent had a whole new meaning.

"Oliver is going to kill you," she spat.

"I'm sure he is," Alexander nodded. "Just like I'm sure you gave a sign, or code, or something to tell them where we are?"

Felicity ground her teeth.

"Yes? Tell me Felicity, why do you think I let you see where we were going?" Alexander teased. "I wanted you to tell him. I want him to find us. Because when he does, we will kill him."

A cackle rang out and from behind Alexander three others walked up. Felicity recognized Ozone and Dregz. She gasped when her eyes met the third's.

Tommy Merlyn.

"Numbers," Diggle said.

"They're coordinates," Barry clarified as the four men stared down at Oliver's translation of Felicity's message.

"How did she know the coordinates of this place," Roy asked pointing at the map they'd marked.

"Because we've been there before," Oliver said reverently.

"Oh," Barry's mouth formed a surprised O.

"It's the Bay Street Warehouse. Or the place where Pasha was killed," Oliver continued.

"Where I was taken captive," Barry added.

"This is where Alexander wants to kill me. I am going to go in alone."

"You cannot be serious Oliver!" Barry chastised.

"Listen," Oliver pushed Barry away. "Alexander wants me. He's trading Felicity for me. I think it's best if just I go, that way you all can stay safe."

"Screw safe!" Roy interjected.

"Roy," Oliver sighed.

"No he's right," Barry put his hands on his hips. "You're being a martyr."

"I'm being smart," Oliver countered.

"No," Diggle said with conviction. It was the first he'd spoken during this argument. "You're not Oliver. You're not thinking clearly. You're just thinking about Felicity. You're thinking about guilt, because clearly you think you put her there. And you're also mistaken in thinking that Alexander is going honor his deal."

"It's our only choice," Oliver said with a sad expression.

"No," Barry picked up a glass bottle. "There's a Plan B."

The team had waited for nightfall. Their chance of success would be far higher with the cover of darkness.

"I'm going to go on record and say that I don't think this is a very good idea," Roy said into his earpiece. He stood alone at the back of the warehouse.

"Noted," Oliver grumbled. Oliver and Barry were positioned together at the front of the warehouse and Diggle was to the left at a side entrance.

"How do we know they'll separate?" Roy continued to grill.

"It's what they did before," Barry chimed in. "When they attacked outside Verdant."

"Yeah but I think that was different," Roy started to say before he shushed himself. "Someone is here."

"Roy?" Oliver asked concerned.

"They spotted me! I have eyes on Dregz!" Roy called out. It sounded as though he was running while talking.

"Diggle get to Roy!" Oliver commanded.

"But the plan?" Diggle countered.

"Just do it!"

Oliver looked to Barry with concern.

"I can take Diggle's spot," Barry nodded and charged off without affirmation from Oliver.

Oliver muttered a curse under his breath. He wasn't sure it was going to work.

Roy dodged the hulking man who had just lunged at him. His heavy body crashed into the side of the concrete wall of the warehouse. Roy knocked an arrow and fired it, the dizzy Dregz still managed to dodge the arrow, but he was visibly distraught by the force he had hit the wall with.

"The bigger they are," Roy muttered as he knocked another arrow. "The harder they fall." Roy let the arrow go. Dregz couldn't dodge the second one and the arrow lodged itself in his shoulder. Dregz let out a painful wail at the impact.

"Nice one," Diggle commended Roy as he jogged up alongside the young vigilante.

Roy smirked. Before he could celebrate too much, however, Ozone appeared out of the shadows.

"That wasn't very nice," Ozone smiled maliciously. He held up his paint can to Dregz's mouth and nose. With a small spray, the gas from the aerosol can shot into Dregz's mouth and nose and he inhaled.

Dregz's eyes darkened and his body stiffened. He reached up and yanked the arrow out of his body. His face and eyes shown no pain from the action.

"Oh shit," Roy knocked another arrow. Diggle raised his gun.

"That's enough guys," Diggle said.

"Enough?" Ozone laughed. "We haven't even started."

Barry was just beginning to question his life choices. The hallway was dark and wet. It seemed the perfect breeding ground for villains to mope and plain their villainy. It also seemed like a great place to get an infection. Barry had six glass beer bottles attached to his belt along with a pouch of dry ice. Verdant served various drinks that used dry ice to create a misty effect. A combination of water and frozen carbon dioxide contained in a glass bottle would create a miniature explosive that he could use to his advantage.

Barry heard movement around the corner. Slowly he peeked around to see Tommy walking down the hall. His eyes were trained towards the ceiling as the touched the underside of his chin.

Barry poured water across the floor and place a few shards of dry ice into the puddle. Soon the hall was blanketed in white fog.

"What the hell?" Tommy shouted. "They're here!"

Barry shoved a shard into a glass bottle and lobbed it at where he thought Tommy had been. The glass shattered with the explosion and it sounded like at least a few pieces hit Tommy. The fog dissipated and Barry found himself in the hallway alone.

He took inventory of his supplies and grinned. He had made some good life choices.

"They know we're here," Barry's voice came through Oliver's earpiece.

"Copy," Oliver affirmed. "Diggle, Roy? How about you guys?" Oliver waited, his finger pressed against the earpiece. "Diggle, Roy? Do you copy?"

"We are a little…" Diggle said before his voice cut off. "Preoccupied."

"Are you okay?" Oliver asked concerned. "Do you need back up?"

"Backup would be great!" Diggle gritted out, a few gunshots fired in the background.

"I'm coming," Oliver said. He turned the corner to leave through the front entrance and loop around to the back, but he ran face first into Tommy.

"Oliver," Tommy smirked. "So glad you could make it."

"Never mind," Oliver mumbled into the earpiece. "I'm going to be held up here."

"Looks like you're outmanned," Ozone cackled. Dregz pinched Diggle's shoulder on a pressure point causing him to roar in pain and submitting him to the cold, concrete floor. "You weren't ready for us."

Roy was unconscious on the ground. At least Diggle hoped he was unconscious. Dregz had hit him pretty hard. He pushed away the feeling of dread that threatened. He knew that help wasn't coming, every since Oliver had been held up at his position. He had to hold on to some hope that they would get out of this.

Diggle saw out of the corner of his eye a cloud of white mist dancing up around their legs.

Dregz gave a concerned look to Ozone.

"This isn't me!" Ozone cried. "Who's there?"

The two men looked around, but the fog quickly enveloped everyone and everything. A glass bottle exploded on the other side of Dregz. The glass shards pierced his leg and he cried out. Diggle to that moment to dodge out of Dregz's hold and roll through the mist towards Roy.

He reached Roy's body and lifted him. He needed to get out of there.

"I knew it!" Ozone cheered despite his anger at the situation. "He's here! Grant is here! Or should I say Barry?" Ozone was referring to Barry's pseudonym that Ozone had known him by three years prior.

"It's hurtful Barry," Ozone continued as the opaque mist swirled. "I trusted you. WE trusted you. Dregz and I. We were friends. You did things for us… fun things," Ozone's tone turned malicious and he shook his aerosol can. "You helped us become what we are today."

"I never should have," Barry called out. Diggle winced, he didn't need Barry nipping at Ozone's bait.

"Look who wear the white hat now. Face it Barry, a hooker can never wear the white hat!"

"I can do my best!" Barry countered.

"Nevertheless. You may have helped us become what we are, but you also must admit, we made you who you are. You would never have survived here in Starling if it hadn't been for us saving you."

"You call that saving?"

"We helped you, we paid you for your services, and we got you settled. You'd be dead without us," Ozone's tone lost all humor.

A glass shattered beside Ozone and he shrieked in pain. One of Barry's bottles he had thrown exploded as Ozone relished in his long speech.

Diggle felt a reassuring hand pat his shoulder. In the commotion Barry had jumped up behind Diggle to help him move Roy to safety.

"That was some good thinking," Diggle whispered as they managed to clear earshot of the still confused and hurt villains.

"I learn from the best," Barry flashed a bright smile.

"You're not Tommy," Oliver repeated.

"But I am. Back from the dead," Tommy grinned.

"Liar!" Oliver spat. "You're del Burgo. Maurice del Burgo and you're wearing a WAXFace of Tommy."

Del Burgo grinned. "Very good. Only took you this long to figure that out."

Oliver grimaced. He'd wanted to believe his friend was alive, even if he was a little crazy. But to realize that it was del Burgo was both a relief and painful.

Del Burgo changed his face to Oliver's. "How's this look?"

Oliver nodded at del Burgo's clothes. "You can't pull off the look without the leather. You won't convince anyone."

"You're right," del Burgo grinned. "But after I kill you. I will wear your face and ruin everyone that loves you. From your sister to that pretty little DA and everyone in between."

Oliver clenched a leather fist.

"They'll wish you'd never been born."

Ozone and Dregz began to chase Diggle and Barry who still struggled to drag Roy.

"Let's drop him here," Barry nodded to empty space behind a dumpster. "They're catching up to us.

Diggle nodded and they hid the young archer just as Ozone and Dregz found them. They managed to pull off nonchalance and it seemed the two villains were none the wiser of Roy's whereabouts.

"Gotcha," Ozone cheered with a flourish. "You're dead now."

Dregz grinned and took a step forward. Once his foot touched the ground his eyes rolled and the huge man wobbled, nearly toppling to the ground.

"Ah…" Ozone shook his aerosol can. "Need a refill?" Again the man aimed the nozzle up Dregz's nostrils and spritz concentrated chemicals. Dregz roared to life, his eyelids opening wide and his arms flexing theatrically.

"Aw jeez," Barry bolted, hoping that Diggle could hold Dregz off long enough to make his plan work. Barry tried to loop back around and hit Dregz from behind, but he was suddenly cut off by Ozone.

"Where do you think you're going?" Ozone sneered. Ozone quickly gassed Barry with a quick spray from his aerosol can. Barry began to feel droopy and exhausted. He knew this concoction, he'd made it.

"Familiar?" Ozone cheered. "Not so fun on the receiving end is it?" Ozone's hand rubbed down to Barry's belt. "Of course you never said that when we had our… fun."

Barry tried to fight, but the exhaustion was just too much. "No, you liked it," Ozone grinned. Ozone pulled on Barry's belt which cause his last remaining bottles to fall and shatter on the ground.

"Oops!" Ozone mocked. "Guess you don't have any more of your bombs. How weak you are. You peaked when you helped me. Now your ideas are lame."

"Not… so… lame," Barry managed. He could feel a miniscule amount of strength returning.

"What's that dear?" Ozone leaned close and rubbed his body along Barry's back.

"This," Barry gritted as his leather-gloved hand forced a shard of dry ice into Ozone's abdomen.

Ozone screamed in agony as the shard of dry ice began to rapidly react with his stomach. Barry watched as signs of frostbitten skin began to erupt around the wound. The scream of pain alerted Dregz. He turned away from Diggle and began to charge towards Barry and Ozone. Barry was still drugged and couldn't react, but Diggle pulled his gun out and fired a shot into Dregz's foot. Dregz wailed and fell to the ground.

Barry, sluggish but able to move, leaned down and grabbed Ozone's aerosol can. It was best to keep the weapon away from the master. Ozone writhed on the ground. Every time he tried to touch the shard, its super cold temperature burned his hand.

"Not so lame after all," Barry gloated.

Dregz tried to lift himself, but his own drug seemed to be wearing off and his wounds seemed to all be catching up with him. No single wound had been a fatal one, but due to Ozone's spray, Dregz had taken many hits, and with this all catching up with him, it could be fatal.

"You won't win," Ozone shivered.

Dregz yelled and leapt at Barry in a final attempt to save his master. Before he reached the still-sluggish Barry, however, an arrow stabbed through his right shoulder and Dregz fell to the ground, blacked out.

Diggle and Barry turned to see a very pained Roy with his bow still aimed up at nothing.

"Thanks Roy," Barry breathed.

"Don't mention it," Roy managed.

Felicity whimpered as Alex stroked his hand along her chin. "I'm so excited for our alone time once we take care of the intruders."

"They're going to stop you," Felicity managed through gritted teeth.

"Is that so?" Alex smiled. Suddenly Oliver burst through the doorway from the hall and fell to the ground in front of Alex. "Wanna bet?"

"Oliver! Get up!" Felicity scream desperately. She needed him more than ever. "GET! UP!"

Oliver lay on the ground for a moment, his face pressed into the cement. Felicity smiled when she saw him slowly move one arm until he pressed it into the ground and lifted himself up from the floor. He pulled himself up on his knees, grunting as he did so.

"Say goodbye, Oliver Queen," Alexander said as he whipped out his handgun.

"No no no…" Oliver tried but it was too late.

BLAM!

The gun fired, smoke rising from the tip like cigarette.

Crimson poured from the clean bullet hole in the front of his head while brain matter and blood smattered the cement behind him. His body fell, lifeless to the ground.

"NOOOO!" Felicity shrieked. She couldn't believe her eyes. He was dead. Oliver was dead.

Diggle and Barry followed the sounds of Felicity's screams while Roy made sure that Ozone and Dregz were down for the count. They both burst into the room without much thought to what they would find.

The sight shocked them both.

Lying on the ground with a hole in the front and a gaping crater in the back of his head was Oliver, dead.

"No," Diggle gasped.

"Yes," Alex laughed and fired his sonic gun. Diggle flew backwards into the wall and fell with a clatter into shipping crates.

Barry whipped out a shard of dry ice but didn't managed to his Alex with it. Alex instead grabbed Barry's arm and held it still. "You are woefully unprepared."

"Someone has to stop you," Barry gritted as he fought with Alex's superior strength.

"I don't foresee that being you," Alex chided.

"How about me?" A different voice came from the other end of the room.

An arrow shot through the room and punctured Alex in the shoulder. He bellowed in pain as he shot around to see who had shot him. He dropped Barry in the process.

In a ridiculous turn of events, standing over the dead body of Oliver Queen was another Oliver Queen. Except the one who had just fired the shot wore nothing but a pair of black boxer briefs and held a bow with a knocked arrow aimed at Alexander.

"Queen," Alex grimaced.

"But how…" Felicity started.

Before any other questions could be asked, Alex fired a sonic blast which knocked Oliver's arrow out of it's midair flight. Oliver, prepared ducked down and quickly let another arrow go. This time the arrow pierced the man's leg and he hobbled and fell to one knee.

Barry acted quickly. He stabbed a shard into Alex's thigh, on the opposite leg. Alex wailed at the multiple intrusions in his body. No doubt he would have called on Ozone at this point to give him a boost, but Ozone was currently being taken care of by Roy and Starling City's finest.

"You will have to kill me," Alex gritted. "I will never stop."

"We're counting on it, yet another new voice said from the door."

"Amanda Waller?" Felicity's voice sounded completely lost at the sudden turns of events.

"Plan C," the mostly naked yet alive Oliver said. "I called her about a new recruit."

"So the guys helping Roy out are not SCPD?" Barry asked as he watched a group of men swarm Alex and take him away.

Oliver shook his head grimly. "Something entirely different." Oliver knelt beside Felicity and began to untie her arms. Once freed she jumped up and wrapped her arms around him and pulled him in for a tight hug.

"Oh my god you're alive!" Felicity jumped up and down, still holding on tight. "I thought you were dead."

"Well, I'm not," Oliver said awkwardly. Then he whispered. "And if you keep doing that something else of mine is going to come to life as well."

"What?" Felicity said initially before her cheeks turned bright red. "Oh," she said, her eyes couldn't help but train down to his crotch, clad only in a pair of tight boxer briefs.

"Yeah," Oliver smiled.

Felicity jumped back and nervously ran to go see if Diggle was okay.

"How did you do it?" Barry asked as he walked up alongside Oliver who was standing over his own dead body.

"It was never Tommy Merlyn. It was Maurice del Burgo," Oliver explained.

"Ah," Barry nodded. "WAXFace tech."

"Yes," Oliver said. "This was my Plan C, to have Waller help take care of Alex. I knew we were desperate so I had to call on people I didn't want to and do things I would never normally do. For example forcibly strip a man and put him in my suit. I threw him in front of Alex. I didn't expect Alex to react so quickly and violently."

"He's a smart villain," Barry shrugged. "Doesn't wait around for all that annoying chatting."

Oliver shrugged. "Guess so"

"Are you okay?" Oliver asked as they pulled up to his home. The debrief had been quick and the team scattered so that they could recover from the night.

Barry nodded. "Yeah, just tired."

"Okay," Oliver replied, a little nervous at how quiet Barry was. "If this is about the violence, or what you did…"

"No," Barry interrupted. "No I know that I had to do what I did. Thank you though. It's really nice that you're worried about me. But don't be. I'm all right."

"Okay," Oliver said as he stepped out of the car.

"I'm going to head back to my place," Barry said vaguely pointing down the street.

"Oh," Oliver blinked. "Okay. Do you want a ride or something?"

"No that's fine, I can walk," Barry said. "Last night was… incredible."

Oliver smiled. "I'm glad it worked out."

"Bye," Barry said and turned to walk down the street, his hands in his jean pockets.

At the Arrow Cave (Oliver cursed at himself for calling it that, even in his head) the team reassembled mostly just to take inventory of everything and recover from the month of one villain after another.

"Hi Oliver," Felicity looked a little confused when Oliver walked in, but she didn't say anything.

"We're going to have to get a bunch more arrows made," Roy commented. He was gingerly favoring his left foot, Oliver would want to check his out at some point just to make sure he was recovering well.

"Not to mention your suit, too," Felicity added.

Oliver smiled. "Sounds good." It was nice to have everyone together again. Almost everyone. Oliver couldn't help but feel that someone was missing from the team.

During the night Oliver pulled Felicity aside.

"Hey, how are you doing?" He asked sincerely. He was worried that she might have lasting emotional trauma from her kidnapping.

Felicity sighed. "I just… I hate that I didn't see it coming."

"Hey, you couldn't have expected that," Oliver cooed.

"In hindsight I feel like I could have," Felicity waved her hand. "I let myself believe that this guy, who was just too good to be true, was really honestly interested in me for once. And considering that you…" She trailed off for a moment before clearing her throat and pressing on, "that you have Barry."

"No," Oliver waved off her suggestion. "Two things Felicity. One, you will always have me, no matter what kind of relationship I'm in, no matter what things I'm doing, you will always have me. You're my lucky star."

Felicity smiled. "Thanks Oliver." She pulled him in for a hug and Oliver happily reciprocated. "And the second?"

"And the second is that I don't have Barry. He went home last night. We're not together," Oliver shrugged.

"Oliver," Felicity growled through gritted teeth. All loving smiles faded instantly, replaced instead by an icy glare. She slowly leaned down beside her computer and grabbed her purse. Oliver initially thought she was leaving for somewhere until Felicity took her first swing and began to beat him with her purse.

"Ah!" Oliver stumbled back words.

"You! Are! So! Freaking! Dumb!" Felicity shouted, emphasizing each word with a beat of her purse. Diggle and Roy took a few steps backwards into the shadows, in order to allow the two to solve the issue on their own.

"Hey!" Oliver cried. "What the heck?"

"Oliver," Felicity took a deep breath and sighed. "You are so beautiful yet so dumb. Barry likes you and you like him."

"But he wanted to go back to his place last night," Oliver supplied.

"Barry fought a team of mastermind villains with you last night. I promise you, he feels the same way about you." Something in Felicity's tone made it sound like she was speaking to a child. Oliver had to hold off on feeling offended by that when faced with the prospect of Barry actually feeling the same way about him.

"I'm going on patrol," Oliver grunted.

"Are you working?" A man in a large, light brown trench coat asked. Barry did a quick once over, a trick he'd honed from his years on the streets. The guy was obviously rich so he could afford it, and he wasn't so bad looking in a sort of distinguished way.

"Yup," Barry laid on the sultry voice. "You need to relax?"

"Yeah," the man replied. He sounded nervous.

"Well then let's…" An arrow shot down and lodged into the brick building beside Barry and the john.

"Oh god!" The john shouted and sprinted away, apparently terrified that the vigilante's crime fighting stretched to fighting prostitution.

"Are you serious?" Barry shouted into the air. He couldn't see Oliver anywhere.

"Hey," Oliver's voice said softly down a dark alley. Barry followed it to find Oliver, in full Arrow Man gear.

"You don't get to do this, Oliver," Barry stabbed Oliver in the chest with his fingers. "You don't get to rule my life with an arrow. Just because I'm breaking the law doesn't mean you get to get all vigilante on me and mmpf!"

Oliver pressed his lips hard against Barry's. Barry felt his eyelids flutter and his head went fuzzy for moment. Shit he almost let his leg pop up in the back. What was he letting this man do to him?

Barry felt Oliver's tongue vying for entrance while it lightly pushed against his lips. Barry opened them and felt a surge of attraction and affection as Oliver pushed him against the wall and impossibly deepened the kiss more. Barry realized he was probably expected to be doing his job. So he reached down to cup Oliver's very obvious hardon in his leather pants.

At that moment Oliver pulled back and Barry actually whimpered as he tried to follow the man.

"No," Oliver said quietly. At least he had the decency to sound as wrecked as Barry felt.

"What?" Barry gasped.

"You mean a lot to me Barry. I'm sorry I let that kiss get out of hand," Oliver started. Barry felt a familiar surge of frustration and anger as he thought that Oliver was beginning to back out of things yet again. "I want to take things slowly."

"Wait what?" Barry knew he didn't hear that right.

"I want to take things slowly. If you'll let me," Oliver actually looked sheepish. It was a cute look. "I'd like to take you out, I'd like to woo you, I'd like to treat you the way you deserve to be treated."

Barry felt his mind spinning. Oliver Queen could not be asking him out. There was no way.

"And this is not because you helped us or anything like that," Oliver clarified. "You're amazing Barry and you deserve much more than me. But if you'll have me, I'd like to try my best to be what you deserve."

Barry looked into Oliver's eyes. He wouldn't allow himself the fairy tale. He had to be realistic. "Oliver you paid me for sex. Aborted sex but still. You will always know that at some point you paid me to have sex with you."

"I know. I don't care," Oliver replied quickly.

"And other men pay me for sex on a regular basis."

"I know," Oliver replied, definitely not as quickly as before.

Barry did not want this to be easy for Oliver, he was certain the Adonis had never had a hard time getting someone before. He didn't want to be like everyone else despite his insides screaming for him to fall for Oliver right there and then.

"Oliver, I'm a hooker," Barry said frankly. "That's not going to change."

"That's okay," Oliver said, though his face read anything but. "I just want a chance. That's all I ask for. Let me prove to you that you're worth it and let me prove to you that I can be worthy of you."

Barry sighed. "Pick me up here tomorrow at seven… sharp."

Oliver's face turned completely ecstatic and goofy.

"See you then Arrow Man."

Wow, Oliver must really like him, he only slightly flinched at the name…

Epilogue

"Snow in Starling City," Barry said softly to himself.

"It's beautiful," Oliver said as he stepped up behind Barry, a hot coffee mug in his hand. He wrapped and an arm around Barry and nuzzled into Barry's neck.

"Hey you," Barry cooed.

Barry didn't mention how snow meant cold and meant nights on the street without a jacket so that he could get picked up by men. He didn't want to ruin the mood. He also didn't mention that for the last three months he hadn't been on the street at all. Instead he had been working as a bar-back at a club downtown.

"Hey," Oliver whispered, concern in his voice. "What's going on in there?"

"Nothing," Barry smiled. "I'm just really happy to be here."

"I'm happy too," Oliver replied. He pulled a black box out from his back pocket. "I know it's not Christmas yet, but I wanted to give you your gift."

Barry looked at the box as if it were a tarantula. Oliver pressed it into his hands and took a step back. Barry opened it to reveal a key lying atop a tiny white satin pillow.

"Will you move in with me?" Oliver looked so hopeful.

Barry's first reaction was to say no. He had fought that kneejerk reaction of late, but it welled up in important situations.

Oliver's hope faded with each passing moment as Barry continued to stare at the jagged piece of metal.

"I know it hasn't been long," Oliver said quietly. "And I know you're still working as…"

"No," Barry said quickly.

Oliver's face completely fell. The disappointment read loud and clear and Barry nearly laughed at it.

"I mean no I'm not still working as a hooker," Barry clarified.

"Really?" Oliver's emotions continued to project. He clearly was trying to manage his expectations.

"I quit, after our third date," Barry admitted. "I work at a night club. That's why I'm gone so late."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Oliver asked, concerned.

"I wanted to find my own way," Barry said. He wasn't sure if he really knew what that meant. But it sounded right and Oliver seemed to accept it.

"So," Oliver's eyes darted to the key then back at Barry.

Barry smiled a bright happy smile. "Yeah, I'll move in."

Oliver's smiled turned bright and delighted as he grabbed Barry around his waist and hoisted him in the air. Jesus, he was like a child. I giant child.

"Two conditions," Barry added as Oliver put him down.

"Anything," Oliver said with a serious face, ready and aiming to please.

"I want to join the team," Barry said. "I've got the medical training to help you guys and I can do a lot more with chemicals if you let me."

Oliver grinned. "I had a feeling that was going to happen at some point."

Barry smirked. "And two… I get to call you Arrow Man."


End file.
